[Nfbf-l] From Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund [

[Patricia A. Lipovsky]

From: Disability Rights Education and Defense 
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DREDF Denounces US Senate Opposition to 

Global Disability Rights Treaty 

Despite the support of over 300 disability rights and veterans organizations, the US Senate failed to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) today, with a final vote of 61 Senators in support and 38 Senators opposed. By not ratifying the Treaty, the US fails
to advance the human rights principles it once championed in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the landmark disability civil rights law upon
which the CRPD is largely based. 

The US has a powerful role to play as a partner and ally in supporting the global human rights of people with disabilities. Our country provides an example
of how the rights of adults and children with disabilities can be advanced, and that our rights matter. 

"The loss of the CRPD has real effects on our lives as people with disabilities, and that includes people in the US. We travel, we work beyond US borders.
The opposing Senators have disregarded our economic freedom today. Equally important, people with disabilities in other nations need an effective CRPD
supported by a strong US role," said Susan Henderson, DREDF Executive Director. "It's critical that we renew our commitment to putting people with disabilities
in positions of power so we can defeat this opposition in the future." 

The CDRP has been ratified by 153 other nations and has bipartisan support. The CRPD was derailed in the Senate by a lockstep block of 38 conservative Senators
who falsely claimed that the Treaty would result in events that varied from a loss of US sovereignty to the loss of parental rights of children with disabilities. 

The fight on this vote ended today but the fight to advance our human rights is far from lost. One step to take today is to contact the 61 Senators who
voted Yes. Each deserves a thank you, and strong encouragement to continue supporting the CRPD. 

The next step involves the 38 Senators who voted No on equal rights for people with disabilities both here at home and around the world. Let them know that
we refuse to be treated like second class citizens and that we vote. 

A complete list of Senators and how they voted:  
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00219 

The Senate Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. 

Read more about the reaction to the vote, including a quote from DREDF's Rhonda Neuhaus, in Boston Globe article:

http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/12/04/treaty-for-the-disabled-falls-short-ratification/Esvyz2zFLGdVzX5j42TSLM/story.html 

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